


Tequila Sunrise

by Poooot



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Rivalry, and the uswnt, angst? I haven't decided yet, ucla roster as other characters, we'll see if I have time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2020-10-05 11:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20488172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poooot/pseuds/Poooot
Summary: Jflem/Mal Rivalry AU.Sapphire moonlightWe danced for hours in the sandTequila sunriseHer body fit right in my handsPreviously titled "Every Kind of Way"





	1. Don't follow me, you'll end up in my arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Y'all. I'm new to this game so take it easy on me!
> 
> LIterally had this idea in my head for as long as I can remember and I had to write it down somewhere to get it out. There will be NO mature content, they are too young and I personally don't read or write that type of stuff. 
> 
> I know they only played together at UCLA for a little bit, but the setting is as if Mal still went there.

Mallory never thought she would ever win a world cup in her life time. Yeah sure, she knew that USA was number one in the world, but an upset could happen at any moment. Mallory never bothered to have high exceptions, believed that what was meant to happen will happen. 

So when Mallory won with her teammates, all she really wanted was the feeling of it to set in immediately. 

But that was not the case.

She might have cried for the amount of blood, the ungodly amount of sweat, and tears of late night feelings of not being at the level she needs to play with the national team. She might have cried because of how being stressed is so exhausting in it of itself or the ache in her lower belly was finally relieved at the sound of the whistle. 

But Mallory didn’t cry because she was now a world champion, the pinnacle of soccer’s biggest competition. The emotion just never set in. 

Mallory went through bottles and bottles of sweet tangy champagne with her teammates. Smiled with Sonny and Lindsey on either side of her and even called Alex a bitch while being poured a drink. The thousands of people crowding around the base of skyscrapers left her in awe. For some it was their second time, and yet each and everyone of them felt the same emotions. 

Except for Kelley, there was not a moment she didn’t have a can, bottle, or glass of liquor in her hand and have it running through her veins. 

Eventually they went their separate ways, returning to their home states for family or straight to their NWSL clubs to continue the grind. Mallory had gone to Colorado for a couple days to celebrate with her family privately and returned to UCLA by July 15th. 

Tegan was already back, sadly being sent home after the disastrous pk shootout, and was the first to greet her on her return and shower her with congratulatory candies.Tegan handed her a mini metal bucket filled with Reese’s, KitKat’s, 100 Grands, and mini Milky Ways.

“I’m so proud of you! I watched your game with England and France live before I came back here. I’ve never seen a crowd like that before. How was it to be a part of that?”

Mallory put her suitcase on the floor by her bed and gym bag on her bed,”It was the most amazing feeling in the world. Being on the green and seeing the stands filled to the brim is a picture that’s never leaving my mind.”

Tegan sat in Mal’s desk chair, grabbing a pen to twirl,”I bet it was.” Mallory could hear the dejected tone in her voice. Mallory couldn’t even begin to imagine the feeling of losing such a match that decided their fate. Just thinking about it brought a faint heaviness in her lower belly, a feeling she needed to dissolve immediately.

Mallory walked to stand in front of Tegan and place a light hand on her shoulder,“I’m really sorry about how Australia went out. Your team played with their hearts on their sleeve and gave it their all. But on the bright side, this means you have something forward to fight for.”

“You better watch out, there’s a lot of time between the next olympics and world cup.” Tegan smirked and slapped Mal’s hand away, quickly changing the subject to something more lighthearted.

Tegan wasn’t the type of person to dwell on the rough times in life. She was much like the forward, the mindset that destiny is already written down, and everything will happen when it’s supposed to. 

——————

Late August turned out to be a hot time of year. Mallory and most of her college teammates were sweating nearly 30 minutes into practice drills and it was eight o’clock in the night. It was something Mallory took very long to adjust to, considering she lived in frozen Colorado and any temperature above seventy degrees meant it was hot. But ninety at eight? She was sweating buckets. 

Passing the ball to Marley and running down her flank for a pass led her straight to the box for a one-on-one. Mallory chipped it, but Tegan’s height got her to tip it just over the crossbar.

Mallory groaned and put her hands on her head to catch her breath with the intense sprint she had just down.

“Ladies! Pause for a second and gather around!” Coach Cromwell announced from the benches and the bruins all jog over.

Anika beside Mallory leaned in close,” I heard we might be getting a new transfer player.”

“We already have a full team though.” Mallory said out of breath slightly.

“Nah, we have only 27 and can have a max of 28 on the team.” Anika responds with a shrug.

“Ladies I wanted to introduce to you the newest addition to the blue and gold fleet, Jessie Fleming.”

Whispers of “holy shit,” “what,” and “when was this,” were being whispered all around, but Mallory was in the back of the huddle, so she shoulders through to the front and wipes her forehead of sweat. 

There, standing next to Coach Cromwell, was a lanky girl in a tan shirt, leggings, and a pair of black and grey vans. 

Mallory recognizes the girl slightly. She remembers years back when she was first called up to the US national team, there was another, roughly the same age, playing for Canada. 

Jessie had soft features, cute button nose, and crazy baby hairs that moved which ever way the wind did. Jessie gave a slight smile and lifted a hand for a short wave. Mallory noticed Jessie’s cheeks turning rosy pink with the amount of eyes she had on her.

“Jessie transferred from Toronto University to play for UCLA. She has played for Canada in the U-17’s, U-20’s, and won a Bronze at the Olympics for the Senior team. The transfer was finalized a couple weeks ago and we decided not to tell you all until she was settled in and attended a few of her semester classes to familiarize herself with everything. Want to say a few words Jessie?” Coach Cromwell pointed her clipboard to Jessie.

Jessie took a step forward and held her hands behind her back,” I wanted to first of all thank you for accepting me into your team even though you all just found out,” a couple of chuckles here and there were heard,” All I wanted to say was I will contribute as much as I can to this team and hopefully we can work together to win championship this year. I hope we all become friends and have a good time this year playing.” 

Jessie gave a quick, little awkward thumbs up and everyone started to clap. 

“Alright, Alright settle down. Everyone please settle Jessie into the team and make sure to introduce yourself to her.”

Everyone jumped to talk with the newest member of the team, but Mallory backed away. She didn’t want to join the swarm that was around the girl and the loud chatter although that was her favorite type of environment. 

Maybe it was because the crowd wasn’t around her. Mallory shrugged off the thought immediately, she was not one to get jealous of a new player who she barely even knew about. 

She tossed a ball around for fifteen minutes until Cromwell whistled for everyone to restart practice. It was then when Mal flinched and launched the ball in the air by accident. Mal quickly recovered and looked around to see where the ball was so she could trap it.  
But someone else got to it first. Or hit by it. Jessie was walking towards the boundary line when Mallory saw the ball slowly descend from the sky and straight into Jessie’s head. 

Jessie flinched hard and looked around to see the ball bouncing away behind her.

Mallory had two choices, One. She could go and apologize and introduce herself or Two. Pretend she was running to her bag for some water.

Of course she went with the latter and quickly ran for her personal water bottle (she didn’t like squeezing the water into her mouth from a distance, rather putting her mouth on the cap and then drinking). Mal gave her back to Jessie and pretended to drink her water until she felt a light tap on her shoulder. 

“I think this is yours.” Mal turned around and looked to see a white and blue ball being held out. Mallory slowly followed the protruding vein on the person’s forearm all the way up to some rosy cheeks. She’s got freckles too.

Mallory lowered the water bottle down,” Um, no it’s not. I was getting a drink of water.”

“You were, ah, the only person that didn’t come to talk to me.” Jessie looked down at Mal’s cleats shyly, tucked a curl behind her ear and lowered the ball to hold it comfortably. 

Mallory felt a burn start at the tips of her ears and flow to her cheeks and jaw. She clenched her jaw hard to control it, but couldn’t help it. Thank god her sun-kissed skin didn’t show her embarrassment like Jessie’s rosy cheeks.

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to be in that crowd.” The forward shrugged and tossed the bottle to the side.

“I get it, no worries. I’m just going to drop this here and go back to Cromwell.” Jessie drops the ball at Mallory’s feet and begins to walk away. 

“That was sufficiently awkward.” Tegan says over her shoulder before grabbing a squeeze bottle from the holder and running to her goal post. 

Mal felt the heaviness in her lower belly again.


	2. Flares of the Furious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jflem and Mal's first game together did not go as planned.

It was mid September before Jessie started to feel good with the new environment she was in. LA (specifically UCLA) didn’t really look all that different, but the vibes was completely something else. Where it was calm in Canada it was borderline chaos in LA. Do not even get Jessie started on the damn traffic. 

Jessie, in her mindset, was settling in great with the team. They were kind, funny, and they all had great chemistry on the field. The anxiety in her stomach was slowly fading and was replaced with insane relief. 

Tegan and Jessie shared the same hobby of photography and exploring the city one direction at a time. Marley loved the long hikes that took them to something cool at the end like a waterfall or a beach; Jessie instantly invited her to hike with her Dad and her when he comes by in a few months. Sunshine and Jessie were new meaning they had the same limited knowledge about the area and the school except that it’s prestigious and had great athletic programs. She was settling within her place at the university and the friendships around her, she was finding herself with an almost constant (small, but big to Jessie) smile on her face. 

—————

Jessie Fleming was not the type to express her emotions when angry, it just isn’t in her nature. Actually, she is the most passive person her all-encompassing friends know. She’d been lied to and didn’t get mad, been in arguments but never lost her cool, she’s gotten the bad end of a slide tackle multiple times and still didn’t get angry. She would get right back up, look at the ref like she knew something they didn’t, and resume playing the game. 

Jessie was also the type to believe you write your own destiny. She almost thought of it as a video game player-choice, either decision would change the course of the game but there would be more to come as you progress. As you can see, this philosophy didn’t match with Mallory’s, and neither did their play style. 

Mallory was not an aggressive forward, she liked to be light on her toes and find a clean opening rather than get passed a ball and push the backline to the box and shoot like Alex on the national team. Mallory floated between a service forward and striker, but she favored that. She hated putting pressure on the enemy team and hated it even more when she received it. To others, it would seem like a major fault in Mallory’s play, but she never expressed her feelings of such to anyone. 

Jessie is an attacking midfielder, favoring center-middle or the left depending on how her coaches want to go about the game. Jessie was great at pressure and forcing back-passes to cause panic and mistakes. She had a great read on defenders and the field of vision she has places her at the center of playmaking in almost all games. 

So, when they played against Stanford that Friday night and Mallory caught onto Jessie’s play style, she channeled her inner Alex Morgan as much as she could. 

It was half-time before Jessie was subbed into the game wearing the classic white and fading baby blue kit. The second the ball was thrown back in, Jessie took over command of the team hastily. 

She gestured where to pass, where to look, who was near and yelled commands that changed the demeanor of the game completely into intensity.

“Marley! Anika’s behind you, Fishel on left!” Jessie shuffled side ways and looked so fast at her surroundings it nearly gave Mal the feelings of whiplash.

Mallory wiped the sweat off her forehead with her left sleeve until she felt the inner rubber band of the captain’s armband sticking to he skin.

This is my team, my game, I control the flow. Mal thought.

She huffed before shouting,“Marley pass to Fishel now!” Marley looked up for quick glance while off a Stanford player when she spotted Fishel against the side line ready for sprint to the corner for a service ball.

Jessie snapped her head toward Mallory on her right and almost frowned before running the way Mal started. 

“Fishel cut in and pass to Villa!” The demeanor of the game didn’t change, the intensity was still there, but there were now two commanding voice rather than one.

Jessie stood at the top of the box still on side as Fishel reached the left corner of the field and made a quick cut around the defender in front of her,“ Mia I’m open! Pass to me quick!” 

“Pass to Villa now!” Mallory stood at the other end of box wide open but there was so much traffic within that it was impossible to see Jessie or Mallory. 

“I’m wide open!” Jessie yelled and ran in front of a defender to be seen better.

“Villa is closing do it now!” Mal said at the same time.

Jessie looked back at Mal and spotted the black armband on her bicep. She clenched her fists hard and quickly looked back to Fishel.

Mia Fishel, brand new freshmen struggled to keep the ball in her possession with defenders slowly closing in on her. It was her decision on who to pass to in the end no matter how much yelling Jessie or Mal did. 

Mia took a short glance to eye the box and all she could see was Stanford trying to force an offside by not completely closing in on the box. In the send, she does a quick back pass to Kylie Kerr who drills it into the bottom corner of the goal. 

No goal. 

Stanford’s goalkeeper kept the corner guarded and read her like book. 

Mal put her hands on her head and groaned in frustration while slowly walking back to the upper circle of the field. 

Jessie cheeks turned into a a rosy red and when she reached to slick back her baby hairs, she caught the half-crescent nail indents in her palm. 

—————

The rest of the second half continued to play out just like that. Mallory’s and Jessie’s commands were constantly contradicting each other causing major miscommunication within the team. 

It really costed them a goal, but luckily Tegan was under no ones commands except hers. She collected the ball and pushed everyone back before launching it to mid-field. 

When the final whistle blew, Mal was to sleep right then and there. She was physically exhausted by straining her muscles to reach max performance and mentally by fighting for command of the field. 

A scoreless draw.

The two teams gave each other quick handshakes and went to their respective sides to get a drink, collect their things, and head straight to the showers. The stadium began to filter out and before even realized it was left with the staff and a few remaining players from Stanford and UCLA.

Jessie never felt so hot headed before, her cheeks were flushed in irritation and frustration with the result of the game. Jessie didn’t know how to describe the feeling really. Anger was something a handful of times and she still thinks what she felt was probably some other emotion she couldn’t describe . Anger was something she always felt was an emotion other people dwelled at. People spend hours arguing over the phone, in person, or online. It just felt like a waste of time to Jessie. It seemed like a waste of an emotion to her, but it did not mean she didn’t feel it flare inside of her before. 

Lifting the hem of her shirt to wipe her face, in the corner of her eye she caught the sun-kissed girl talking with a half-hearted smile to some Stanford players on the other side of the field.

Jessie quickly dropped the bottom of her shirt (that went right back to sticking her to her stomach) before she sauntered her way towards Mallory.

Mallory caught in her peripheral wild hairs and red cheeks coming towards her direction. 

“We can talk more after we shower, yeah? I’ll see you guys together.” Jessie was not the only one that wanted to “chat” for a hot second.

Mallory strutted like she was on a mission while Jessie paced herself to the center of the field

Mallory didn’t visibly look fierce, but in her mind she was tea pot ready to have the water flow out the sides any second.

Mallory was fuming, and it wasn’t because they were scoreless and was left with unfulfilled hunger for a win. The second Jessie got on the pitch she took control of the play style, the dynamic, the speed; It was like having a carpet yanked out from under Mal’s feet and being left to scramble up by herself. Mal was the captain of the team, she had the armband, she was the world cup that year and would be heading to the olympics the next year. It was her job to command her teammates and her job to execute every play, not Jessie’s. Mal would not let the new kid steal her rightful place no matter their accolades were.

The Stanford girls met with the remaining staff and headed into the their locker room carrying coolers and their shin guards in the waist of their shorts.  
This left Jessie and Mal the last ones on the field and the second they met Mal poked a finger straight into the middle of Jessie’s chest causing the latter to stumble slightly.

“What the hell were you doing sending out commands to the players?” A strong frown found itself on Mal’s face, “I’m the captain, I’ve studied the plays,” Mallory pushed Jessie back a little harsher, ”I’ve put in the work to become the captain of this team and wear the armband. Who the hell are you to do my job?” 

Mallory went to give one last push on Jessie’s collarbone, but it was swiftly slapped away and suddenly they were face to face. 

“Maybe if you stopped focusing on playing by the textbook, you would have better command of the team.” This time Jessie pointed a finger at Mal, but didn’t touch her, “You rely on past strategies meaning you have no idea how to play loosely and freely." Jessie got closer and tilted her head to the left slightly to look Mal in the eye, ”You are insecure when a tactic you haven’t seen written down in a binder is played out and you have no clue how to improvise.” 

“Oh that’s gold coming from you. You couldn’t come through for own team when they need you most; to make the deciding play. I know how to improvise and I damn well know how to play better with my team than you. The team goes for a set piece and instead you do what you want and play how you want leaving half the team confused of your decisions.” 

“How dare you accuse me of not coming through for my old team? I put everything into that game and that penalty may have lost them the championship, but at least I lost with my team. You win one world cup and it went straight to your head, as if you sit on a throne. Don’t forget you play amongst people just as good as you who could’ve been in your place.” 

“At least I won a world cup with my team. You can keep biting chunks out of your bronze medal.” Mal shot back just as harsh.

“Was USA not kicked out in the round of 16?” Jessie slightly smirked. 

“This is my team. My armband. I lead this team to win, not you.”

“Well, we didn’t win this time did we?” Jessie retorted.

Mal raised her voice,“Because you were confusing half the team, yelling out shit at the same time I was! They couldn’t hear either of us and had to do what they thought was right.” 

“Or they didn’t know who to listen to.” 

I swear to god I’m gonna rock your shit so-“ Mallory was cut off by a sharp voice causing Jessie to look over her own shoulder and Mal to peek over her.

“Ladies! What are you two doing on the field? Hit the showers and go home!” Coach Cromwell yelled from the tunnel in the corner of the stadium. 

“Yes Coach!” Mal shouted back and turned back to look at Jessie’s flushed cheeks, “We are far from over.” Mal tossed Jessie a dirty look before walking into her shoulder and brushing past her to the tunnel.

Jessie turned around and watched the girl walk away with her ponytail slightly swinging back and forth with the force of her walk. She could feel the onset feelings of an extreme headache she knew she would feel later. 

Jessie pinched the bridge of her nose. This was not how she expected the conversation to go, but as soon as Mal started to push her, there was no way she wasn’t going to stand up for herself. 

She slowly started her way off the field.

—————

Later that night, Jessie laid on top of her covers with a hand behind her head and the other on her stomach, looking at the swirling ceiling and sifting through her thoughts. Feeling the hot breeze of the humid LA night on her exposed leg because of her boxer briefs relaxed her slightly..

Thinking back to the game, Jessie was only sending out commands because she wanted the pace to change and if Mallory wasn’t going to do that half way into the second half she would take things into her own hands, which is exactly what she did. She definitely did not expect the girl’s nasty attitude towards her and did not appreciate being pushed repeatedly. They could’ve had a civil conversation, maybe even talk about working together since their play styles were so different and yet so compatible. To Jessie, it seemed as if Mallory was purposely not working with her. 

Mallory unquestionably confused her. 

Jessie thought back to being face to face with the forward so closely. She remembered seeing the small scar on Mal’s left cheek, the minuscule birthmark on her lip, and the speckles in her brown eyes. Jessie still felt Mal's hot and short breaths brushing her nose. 

Jessie felt a hollowness in her belly and heaviness in her mind. 

This is not what she wanted in her last year of college and the beginning of her time at UCLA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo what's up! Thank you so much for the kudos on the first chapter!
> 
> It took a while to see what the base of the rivalry would be so that's why it took so long to write. I hope you all enjoy and I would love it if you left a comment about this so far or even something about your day!


	3. can't help but fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bruins go to a party and have a little fun.

Earlier that day the Bruins team had collectively decided to use their Sunday night to party hard and get over the draw they had that Friday. Jessie had barely finished her notes for structural design when Teagan busted through her dorm door to pull her along at nine o’clock at night. She had planned to use the night to get ahead of some of her classes to lighten the work load for the next week, but Teagan threw her a pair of blue jeans and a black UCLA t-shirt.

“Get ready! We’re going out and you are definitely coming, we have to show you how to party like the Americans.” Jessie rolled her eyes, but reluctantly closed her textbook and went to put the clothes on in her bathroom. She also put on a pair of her vans and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Teagan took Jessie in her Jeep and picked up Villa and Mia on the way, blasting Love on Top by Beyonce. Jessie cringed hard, but everyone in the car was singing along and jamming out so she didn’t want to kill the mood by turning it down. They soon pulled up to a house on the corner of the street, the music being heard from up the road.

“Do you always turn music up this high?” Jessie asked while unbuckling her belt and opening the door.

Mia frowned, “Huh?”

“Exactly my point,” Jessie muttered under her breath before speaking louder, “No drinking Fishel! I’m DD and I’ll be watching.”

“I know. I know.” Mia waved Jessie off before being pulled by Villa into the house.

People were standing on the lawn, on the patio, and on the upper balcony holding drinks in their hands and standing in groups to chat.

“Come on I’ll bring you to the team, half of them are already there. Do you want anything to drink?” Teagan quick ascended the steps and opened the door to let Jessie by her.

“I’m good! I’ll get one myself.”

They find their team in the big backyard standing next to the pool with people splashing around and cannon balling into it.

“Hey! I didn’t think you would come!” Marley pulled Jessie into a side hug and Jessie waved to everyone else.

She smiled before replying, “Teagan pushed me to go and I won’t be drinking.”

“Whyyyy?” Marley had a genuine sad face; she was sad she wouldn’t be able to get “lit” with Jessie.

“I decided to be the DD. Let me know when all of you are ready to go when it gets late. I’ll take Teagan’s car to drop you all off.” Jessie sent the group a soft smile and they thanked her collectively.

“Do you want something non-alcoholic to drink? I can get it for you.” Anika offered, pointing over her shoulder to the sliding glass door leading to the kitchen.

“Oh no, don’t worry. I’ll get it myself,” Jessie started to walk backwards before turning around and walking into the kitchen.

The countertops were filled with every type of liquor and mixer you could think of. Jessie wondered where they could get so much stuff and how much it could have costed.

She eyed the giant gallon of cold red Hawaiian Punch on the island and decided to pour herself a cup. She looked around to find the bag of solo cups until she found a paper taped to a cabinet door point towards a door in the corner with the words “CUPS IN PANTRY.”

Jessie didn’t see the light on and when she opened the door she did not expect to find Mallory munching on a tall baseball player she’s seen around campus or on her way to her practice.

“Fucking he-“ Jessie slapped the door shut and turned around hastily making her way back to the other side of the kitchen farthest from the pantry. She gripped the edge of the counter hard, her knuckles turning white and her cheeks flaming.

She grabbed the nearest empty solo cup, inspected the shit out of it, and poured the Hawaiian Punch into the cup. Suddenly Jessie felt a presence to her right and nearly dropped the whole gallon when she realized it was Mallory holding a cup looking for a specific drink.

Mallory finally looked up at who was next to her and her eyes widened when she realized it was Jessie.

“Shit.” Mallory reached out and rotated the punch gallon in Jessie’s hand quickly up right before it spilled out of the cup and onto the counter. “Are you trying to spill it everywhere? Watch what you’re doing.”

Jessie put the gallon where it was before and turned to face Mal fully, “M-My bad, didn’t mean for that to happen.” She rubbed the back of her neck with her right hand to relieve the awkwardness she was feeling.

“Why are you stuttering? You weren’t doing that on Friday night.” Mal crossed her arms causing her black crop top to ride up and a sliver of smooth brown skin to show.

Jessie felt her ears burn before she quickly glanced at Mal, then to the pantry, and then back to Mal.

“Oh shit. You saw that? What the hell were you doing?” Mal suddenly pointed a finger into Jessie’s chest yet again who quickly swipped her hand away.

She gave Mal a hard stare, “Maybe choose a better make out place than the one that holds all the cups and maybe people won’t accidentally walk in.”

“Whatever you saw was none of your business.”

“I don’t even want to be a part of it so let’s forget I saw anything."

  
“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Jessie clenched her jaw hard and looked to the side before grabbing her almost filled cup and brushing past Mallory back to the backyards. “Always wanting the last word,” Jessie muttered under her breath.

* * *

Jessie wasn't technically having an awesome time, but she was content with leaning against the wall of the living room and observing everyone dancing, talking, or whatever was happening within groups around thr room.

Teagan was next to her talking amongst a group of girls who were on the topic of explaining offsides. Jessie guessed it was a hard topic to understand for those who didn’t watch soccer a lot, but she didn’t mind listening to Teagan carry the conversation for all of them.

“Women’s soccer head upstairs! It’s time for team bonding!"

Shit. Jessie didn't nessesarily like team bonding because she usually was given shit for always choosing truth in truth or dare. Some people needed to understand that if someone is uncomfortable doing something they shouldn’t be peer pressured into doing it. It’s their choice and it should be respected just like any other decision. If they did anything other than that, she would usually be chill and actually up for it.

However, Jessie was a hypocrite because despite knowing this, she still allowed herself to be pulled up the staircase and into the biggest room to sit in a circle.

Mal was soon dragged in as well by Sunny and they plopped down right across from the midfielder.

“This is so childish, like freshmen childish. Shouldn’t we play something a little more mature?” Someone suggested from the back.

_Yes. Yes. YES._

“No," Anika said before downing her corona before placing the bottle in the middle of the circle.

_Noooooooooo. _

“So, who’s first?”

“Me!” Teagan jumped her raise her hand. She leaned forward and gave a quick flick to spin the bottle fast.

The game went on for eight or nine rounds before Anika was chosen to spin the bottle and choose her victim.

Jessie had her legs crossed and leaned back on her arm in a relaxed position. So, when the bottle slowed down to her, she nearly fell backwards all the way at the ooh’s heard around the room.

“Truth or dare?” Anika asked

Jessie felt like she was in a sauna as nearly 30 pairs of eyes awaited her decision.

“U-Um… Dare.” The room quickly fell into a loud cheer before everyone settled to let Anika give her one.

“I dare you… to… slow dance with Mal in the middle of the circle.”

“What?” “No!” Mal nearly jumped up from her position on the floor before she was quickly shut up by Anika.

“HEY. A dare is a dare and you either do it or forever be known as the chicken at any party from now on. I have connections.” No doubt Anika had too many contacts in her phone for anything and everything.

Quickly standing up from her stop, Jessie pulled up her jeans that fell low on her waist and wiped her clammy hands on her jeans before walked across the room to offer Mal a hand to help her up.

A couple whoops and hollers echoed in the room, a player even yelled out “Jessie the Gentleman!” which she was pretty sure was Teagan.

“Fine.” Mallory grabbed Jessie’s hand and pulled herself up before they both shuffled to the middle.

Mallory did not want to do this. Her intense hatred for Jessie that grew since the Friday game made her want to slap Jessie across the face the more she thought about it. However, she didn’t want to do it in front of the team and nor did she was to be named the team's chicken for not wanting to do the easiest dare given. Mal was just going to clench her jaw and suck it up for now.

Jessie and Mal did not know how to properly hold each other. Despite the many dances Mallory had been to, she was so stubborn that she didn’t want to help Jessie find the proper place to put her hands.

So Jessie instead held Mal’s hips arms length away with Mal’s hands behind Jessie’s neck, slightly brushing her fingertips against soft curly hair.

“You guys have no idea how to slow dance. Here, let me show you how to hold each other.” Sunny jumped up and took Jessie’s left hand and Mal’s right and intertwined them together gently. She then moved Mal’s left hand more onto the crook of Jessie’s neck than behind it completely.

“You guys are stiff arming each other, get loose and stand closer!” Sunny pushed them closer together, forcing them to unlock their joints and nearly be chest- to- chest.

“Can you just start the song already?” Mal snapped.

“Okay, Okay, jeez. Someone is cranky.” Sunny quickly put on a song and turned the volume up all the way to block out the music from downstairs.

_Wise men say only fools rush in_   
_ But I can't help falling in love with you_   
_ Shall I stay?_   
_ Would it be a sin_

“Oh my god!” “I cry every time I hear this!” “WOULD IT BEEEE AAAA SIIIIIIIN”

Mallory and Jessie slowly started to shuffle from side to side and rotate. They were shocked that mostly every person in the room was singing along to Elvis Presley and following the tune.

_Like a river flows surely to the sea _

Jessiemoved her left hand to Mal’s lower back to pull her in closer in a more comfortable position and Mal instinctively leaned in closer, nesrly jumping at the midfielder's finger tips brushin the skin on her lower back.

_ Some things are meant to be_   
_ Take my hand, take my whole life too _

“This doesn’t change anything.”

“I know.” Jessie pulls away but doesn’t let go of her right hand with Mal’s to twirl her around and pull her back in again to her original spot to continue swaying.

Mal’s eyes connected with Jessie for a split second before the midfielder broke eye contact and looked at the ground. She finally got a good look at the golden freckles splattered across Jessie’s nose and her upper cheeks. Mal hated to admit it, but they suited her face well and made her look adorable, especially with her already red cheeks and long hairs falling out of her ponytail to frame her face.

_ For I can't help falling in love with you _

The hand on Jessie’s shoulder fisted her black shirt slightly causing her to look straight at the forward’s soft round chin.

_ like a river flows surely to the sea_   
_ Darling so it goes _

"What?" Jessie gave a quick glance into Mal's eyes.

"You can't make eye contact with mecan you?" Mal smirked and leaned a little closer so her right cheek was next to Jessie's, above where Mal's left hand was placed on her shoulder.

_I can hear the smirk she's making._

“Well I can't now." Jessie was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the amount of eyes that were watching them and how the circle around them were swaying back and forth to Presley's voice.

Jessie spun the forward out again and brought her right back in, nearly stumbling into each other at the force of her pull. The vibe surrounding them was light, free, and the song made it feel as if love was in the air. But inside their space, the vibe between Jessie and Mal, was shifting into something none of them knew. They both had a growing feeling of hatred for each other and any chance they caught eye sight they talked shit right to each other's faces.  
Jessie had been with the team for almost a week and even the players felt the stuffy air between them.

* * *

Teagan was the first to notice their dislike when Mal and her had gone to the library to study together and test each other for an upcoming quiz in each of their classes. They had walked up to the second floor when the goalkeeper caught eye of Jessie sitting in the corner of the room, next to the window which made up the wall. The glare of the setting sun through the window made the midfielder's freckles glow and her sloppy whisks of hair to show little shadows on her scrunched hair as she fiercely typed with her headphones plugged in.

Teagan went to grab Mal's shoulder and point the midfielder out, but she was already looking towards the window with a deep frown on her face. There was a crease between the forward’s eyebrows and Teagan could not think of a single reason why. Did something happen between the two? Does she not like her?

Teagan actually liked Jessie. The midfielder was sweet, caring, always looking out for her friends. She felt a sense of respect with how much responsibility was on her shoulders, not to mention that Jessie was extremely intelligent not just at soccer, but academically. Teagan was at team dinner after Friday’s game and sat next to Jessie who was on her phone. The goalkeeper didn’t mean to be nosy, but when she saw Jessie looking at her four A+’s in her classes, Teagan need to sit down before she fell in shock.

How did she have such good grades when they were all constantly traveling on college and national duty? The goalkeeper just found a great new friend and an amazing study buddy to work with

So when Teagan looked back and forth between Jesse and Mallory, she was confused by her distaste.

Teagan started her way to where Jessie was sitting, but was quickly stopped by Mallory’s hand on her forearm.

“Wait! Don’t.” Mal said frantically.

“Why? I want to say hi to Jessie and see if she wants company. It’d be great to study with her, I saw her grades one time and they are amazing! All A’s, can you believe it? With how much we are away it's surprising how well she’s doing here.”

“She looks really busy, I don’t think we should disturb her. Look, she’s focusing so hard, I wouldn’t want to break her from that. There’s a reason she is sitting in the corner by herself.” Mallory stated while pointing towards Jessie.

Teagan had to admit the forward was right, she didn’t want to break the trance Jessie was in and mess up her flow, "Yeah, let’s just go sit on the other side. I’ll see her later anyway."

While walking to the other side of the second floor, Teagan caught Mallory looking back over her shoulder before turning back around.

_Weird_ she thought.

* * *

The next day, everyone had no idea how the night ended at all. It wasn't that they drank to the point of not remembering the night. But they were genuinely too tired to recall anything. 

Mallory was on her belly and had her hands under the pillow her head was on. She slowly woke up when the sun shined on her face from the slits in the window blinds. It was too early to get it seemed, so the forward turned her head the other way and tried to fall back asleep in the bright room, but struggled to lose consciousness.

It was then she heard the slam of her bathroom door close shut. 

"Who the hell is in my- _Jessie_?" Mallory quickly lifted herself onto her hand and wiped away the sleep from her eyes.

"It's _not_ what you think, okay?" The midfielder stood there in boxer briefs and a soft looking Henley shirt, the edge of her sleeves pull over her hands.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Mal accused her.

"Um, you're in _my_ room in _my _bed." Jessie threw her arm in the air to make Mallory look around the room.

"What!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They danced? The held each other? OOF. That ending left me even shook, dog. 
> 
> Y'all. I tried to italicize the damn lyrics and it kept doing this weird <> thing and it was a MESS. Then I realized i was using HTML and not rich text. I failed so hard wtf bro.


	4. Resolutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessie Explains and they go right back to square one.

“I guess you don’t remember last night do you?” Jessie sighed and sat in her desk chair backwards with her arms resting on the back.

“No, I obviously don’t. Do you mind telling me how I got here so I can leave?” Mallory threw Jessie’s blanket off of her and sat up fully, stretching her arms to hear the satisfying crack in her lower spine.

“Well… Before the song ended, I accidentally stepped on your foot. You jumped like I shot you in the foot from me and at the same time your baseball boyfriend-“

“-Not my boyfriend-“

“- barged in and took you away. We played a couple rounds more until everyone got bored and decided to head down stairs to refill their drinks and find more people. I wanted to go home, but Marley and Teagan convinced me to stay so we just stayed upstairs for a little.”

Jessie scratched the back of her neck as she tried to recall more.

“I’m not wearing pants!?” Mal looked at Jessie accusingly.

“You took them off yourself! I offered you some shorts and you threw them across the room!” Jessie exclaimed and pointed to the poor white shorts still in a ball in the corner of the room near Jessie’s trashcan.

“Whatever. Continue.” She yawned out while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“It was around 3am when I went down and realized half our team was drunk. And you were nearly there with your 3 tequila shots,” Jessie glared slightly. “You were even eating Nacho Cheese-“ she shuttered,” While drinking them which I find to be a horrible chip flavor and a mix.”

“Don’t hate.” Mal nearly threw her pillow at Jessie, but decided against it, rather laying back down to look at the ceiling.

“Whatever. I got as many people into Teagan’s car and when I tried to get you, you almost fought me.” Jessie extended her forearm to show a long red inflamed line.

“You probably deserved it.” Mal chuckled.

“How does the DD deserve pain?! I’m trying to get you safely ho- You know what? Never mind. Anyways, I got you into the car and when I dropped everyone off, you wouldn’t tell me your dorm name and you kept messing with the damn radio.”

“Goosebumps was probably playing.”

“It was not! But that doesn’t matter. You thought I was a creep asking where you stayed when I was just trying to keep you safe.” Jessie frowned hard and look down at the ground.”

“Sorry.” Mallory mumbled loud enough for Jessie to hear.

“Doesn’t matter now. I got you to wash up and had to nearly throw you on the bed because you kept trying to fight me. You made me lay on you until you fell asleep. By the way, I slept on the floor so you're welcome.” Jessie sent Mallory a sarcastic smile which quickly fell when Mallory sat up on her elbows.

“Was I really that bad?”

“You tried to make me lick the nacho dust off your fingers so yes, you were absolutely terrible… But I rather have you safe than sorry.”

“Thanks. I mean that. Who know what would have happened if you didn’t get me out.”

“Your boyfriend was _really _helpful.” Jessie got up from her chair and walked to her dresser to fiddle with things on it to be closer in Mal’s view.

Mal craned her neck to the left to look up at Jessie, “What do you mean? Also not my boyfriend.”

“Well one, he was all over you and two, he didn’t stop you from drinking.”

“What if I didn’t want to stop?” Mal sassed back.

“Did you really want to blackout or did you just want to forget about me?”

What do you mean _you_?” Mal swung her legs off the bed and crossed her arms to fully face Jessie.

Jessie’s eyes went straight to Mal’s sun kissed thighs, but looked straight back to her fiery eyes. “Well we fought during and after Friday’s game and you looked like you wanted to kill me when we danced.”

Mallory stood up to get in Jessie’s face, “Let’s get this straight Jessie, I would never drink _because_ of someone and never because of _you_. You don’t have any effect over me or whatever you think is going on between us, got that?”

“Well you obviously hate me for some reason I have no clue about. I helped you out this time because you are my captain and I was the designated driver. Don’t expect me to do it again.”

“That’s right, I _am your_ captain, so stop acting like you are one. I lead my team and that means I lead you too. Yeah, you were the DD, but don’t act like I _needed_ you because one, I don’t and two, I don’t expect you to do it again. I can handle myself and I definitely do not need you to save me. I might be thankful this time, but don’t try it again.”

Mallory looked like she was about to spit fire and burn Jessie, as if she didn’t already.

_Who does she think she is? Acting as if I _needed_ her to save me, as if I should be thanking her. Get outta here with that shit._

Mal turns away from a stunned Jessie and goes to grab her jeans and shoes which she slips on swiftly. She grabs her shirt and bra from the desk and yanks open the dorm door before storming out into the hall.

“That’s my t-shirt!” Jessie yells just as the door closed and rubs her temples in frustration.

She groans in frustration out loud before grabbing some clothes from her dresser and heading to the bathroom so wash off the sweat from last night

———————

The team prepared all week for the next game on Thursday which ended up being tomorrow soon enough.

The Bruins had an late practice in the day when the sun had started to set and they all agreed to head to recovery together to chill a little bit.

The team could feel the growing tension between their top players, and they did not like it one bit. Yes, the whole team was great, amazing, full of talent, but they couldn’t deny they had 2 field players that had been to the World Cup playing for them, especially with one that won it. It messed with the teams dynamic terribly. The usual friend groups were breaking into sides and the usual connection between all of them was diminishing slowly as they practiced.

Even Coach Cromwell wasn’t feeling well, canceling practice the day before because she had to think how to have their two best players try to play together. Before practice ended, Coach Cromwell finally had enough, she was done with whatever feud was between Jessie and Mallory.

“Practice is over! Everyone except Mallory and Jessie go to the showers or the recovery room.”

The team felt almost ashamed, all of them tried their best to get the two to get along and try to work together, but their hate was so rooted it was impossible to get anything out of them. Jessie was quiet, reserved, she didn’t speak a lot and was just a natural homebody. Mallory was loud, outgoing, and was terribly stubborn when she didn’t want to do something.

There was no getting through to either of them.

——

Mal and Jessie walked toward Coach Cromwell while the others packed their gear and headed inside.

“Look kids, I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two, but it ends tonight. Do you understand me? Your vibes are rubbing off on everyone and whatever this is, is ruining the team. Do you want me to bench you both?”

“No.” “No, coach.” They both mumbled.

“Then figure yourselves out or you do not play tomorrow.” Coach Cromwell turned around and headed into the locker room.

“Look-“

“Shut up.” Mallory looked directly into Jessie’s eyes and pushed her back until she sat on the metal bench, looking up at her.

“What the he-“

“Listen to me,” Mallory stepped back and ripped the back pre-wrap off her head beforerubbing her face with her hands, “I am the captain, I lead this team to be the best it can be and we play to win.”

“Yes, but-“ Jessie started.

“Just listen, damnit!” Mallory slammed her hand onto to Jessie’s mouth. “Can you shut up for a second?”

Jessie squinted at Mallory before nodding once and Mallory removed her hand.

“We need to start working together. We are both controlling and dominant on the field and that’s causing our entire team to fall apart. Our backline has gaps, our midfield had so many incomplete passing to each other today I was about to punt the ball into the tree line. And my forwards and I can’t strike for shit.”

Jessie put her elbows on top of her knees and intertwined her fingers. “I acknowledge you are my captain. You lead, command, and guide us, but if I think there is something that can be done better, whether it’s a pass, a through ball, a cross, I’m going to say it.” Jessie stated as softly as she could as to not provoke the forward.

“And you will. Because we’ll communicate now. We will talk calmly, take in each other’s advice. Listen to each other and stop interrupting each other.” Mallory slowly sits next to Jessie and releases out a long sigh, each other’s thighs slightly touching.

“We were gonna destroy this team if we didn’t figure it out, huh?” Jessie sat back up, Mal’s shoulder meeting her’s.

“Probably, but Coach would’ve done something soon if we didn’t, just like she did now.”

The stadium lights went off right after another until all was left was the sky and the players.

“It’s a nice night.” Jessie nudged Mal’s shoulder to make her look up at the violet sky.

“Yeah, full moon apparently.” Mal states quietly and points at the bright white planet.

They each breathe in the coolness of the air, just sitting in either’s company and inside each other’s heads.

“We can do this right? We can be… civil?”

Mal hesitated before standing up and leaving Jessie to look up at the moon herself.Jessie kept looking at it's craters until she heard the forwards words to her right, “We can try our best."

That was all that Jessie needed for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update in a long time, school is finally starting to pick up and I'm getting into the routine again so updates might be sparse but I'll make 'em long for y'all. Lemme know how it was!


	5. Reconciling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessie and Mallory attempt to work together to further their team.

A couple days go by with Tuesday practice being an off day, the next practice would be on Thursday so the team takes the week in stride; catching up on homework, attending make-up classes, taking naps, discussing with teachers, anything they needed they did. 

Jessie took the opportunity to get ahead of her civil engineering work so she didn't have to stress with the upcoming game on Saturday. She switched between staying in her dorm and working in her room to sitting in the library with the sun's natural light shining through the windows. 

Oddly enough, Jessie would also invite Mallory to study with her and work on her communication classes. Jessie would text Mallory or vise versa to see if the other had time to study and find a time to meet up.

They worked in silence and usually had their headphones in with Mal listening to some rap song and Jessie listening to something more rhythmic and calming. They shared highlighters, pens, white-out, whatever they had on them was passed between them in seamless peace.

Working in silence might be just the first step they need. Being able to tell what the other needs without communication is a big part of playing on/off the pitch. They needed to be able to tolerate each other's presence without bickering and fighting over every little thing. So the next best idea was working in silence. 

* * *

It was about 9pm on Wednesday and both Jessie and Mal had been cooped up in the corner of the library since 5pm, only leaving to go to the bathroom or grabbing something to eat. As much as Mal needed the time to study, she was absolutely itching to get up and play some pick up especially when practice was canceled yesterday.

Mal took off her headphones and looked up from her textbook to see Jessie's concentrated face as she vigorously wrote in her notebook. Mal eyed the little crease between Jessie's eyebrows and almost reached out to smooth it over before she caught herself.

She closed her computer and textbook tucking it into her NorthFace backpack and put her headphones back into its case and safely into the small pocket of the backpack. Jessie looked up and caught Mal cleaning up and then turned to look out the window.

"Holy- what time is it? It's already night time?" She was so focused on finishing her task the hours of the day flew right past her.

"Yeah, it's already 9:37. Do- Do you want to play a round of pick up?" Mal stood up and shouldered her backpack.

"Like- right now? here?" Jessie looked around in confusion._ How are we gonna play in a library?_

"No, you dummy," Mal shook her head with a little smirk. "I meant we could go to the field. Sneak in and play. We've been sitting here all day, I want to move around a little bit." she stated as she pushed in her chair, knocking into the table.

"You want to sneak in? How?" Jessie was actually considering this and it surprised Mal. She thought Jess was a goody-two shoes, never breaking the rules and always following directions. But when she closed her laptop and looked at Mal expectantly, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly.

"We can hop the fence easily and the stadium lights are always on so we just need a ball." 

Jessie dumped her textbook and notebooks into her bag and slide her laptop into a pouch, "I have one in my room and it's on the way there, let's go."

Jessie stood up and led Mallory down the stairs and to the front of the library. Kindly holding the door open for Mal and allowing her to go out first, they headed towards the senior athletic dorms that was just a simple 5 minute walk halfway across campus.

Jessie thought they would need to initiate a conversation, a random filler to take avoid awkward silence. She disliked that feeling that nothing was being said, nothing was being discussed. And it wasn't that she didn't like silence, but the awkward tension, the feeling of having nothing in common or exciting to say. The side glances of waiting for either person to bring something up or knowing that the relationship isn't that far enough to have comfortable silence. It's an indescribable feeling that is hard to put into words and can only be felt and experienced, not said.

However, Mal and Jessie were so in their heads that nothing was needed to be said. A sort of acknowledgment of similar feelings was shown with Mal skipping away next to Jessie who led her across the street and once again held the door open like the gentleman she is.

* * *

Jessie was first to hop over the fence since she was pretty flexible and able to quickly climb, hop, and drop onto the ground on the other side. 

"Have you done this before? Because there is no way you just scaled this 8 foot fence that fast." Mal asked in suspicion as she looked at Jessie through the holes in the fence.

"I was a gymnast for a little bit when I was little. I also used to climb my neighbors yard to hang out with their daughter in her tree house so I've had some experience," Jessie wiped off the dust from her hands and gestured up, "It's easy. Climb up, throw one leg over, let your body slide down a little bit, and then swing the other over and let go."

"It's harder than it sounds." Mal looked up at the top wearily. 

"It was your idea, don't chicken out now, unless you do." Jessie hoped her little comment would rile Mal enough to jump over.

Mal didn't even reply before she was swinging her leg over and letting go. 

"Oh shi-" Jessie ran just in time to put her hands on Mal's hips to steady her fall and take some of the sting off her feet.

"Dude! Ouch!" 

"Are you okay?"

"Obviously not! My favorite hoodie is ripped!" Jessie looked at Mal's sleeve and saw the entire sleeve ripped in half.

"it must've gotten caught on the pointy part. It's fine, you have other hoodies." Jessie picked up her soccer ball again and walked down the steps of the seating area with Mal next to her.

"Yeah, but this one is my _favorite_. There's a difference."

"You can buy the same one at the store, I'll even get it for you if you want. Now come on, let's play." Jessie acted nonchalant about the rip and Mal was a little hurt with the insensitivity, but she brushed it off and took off the olive green hoodie.

Mal tossed the ripped hoodie into a nearby trash can while Jessie drop kicked the ball several feet in the air before trapping it and passing it to Mal.

They did several partner drills from practice and a couple sprints to warm up from the chilly wind before playing 1v1. Jessie's cheeks and nose instinctively became a soft rosy color and had crazy wisps of baby hair blowing in the same direction of the breeze.

(Mal would never admit it, but it made Jessie look so adorable.)

Mal rubbed her hands together to warm up her palms as she was stuck with just a t-shirt while Jessie had taken hers off and placed it next to the goalpost so she wouldn't forget it. 

"Are you ready? Even forwards should know a little bit of defense." Jessie sent a small smirk towards Mal and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I can do any position you choose, Jess. No need to hint it." Mal turned around and jogged to get the ball while Jessie felt the tips of her ears burn and her face feel warm.

* * *

"Focus, when I'm coming from the left and you know I'm going to chip it over, what do you do?" Mal had the ball and was on the left side of the 18-yard box while Jessie was struggling to defend Mal on her dominant side.

"I rush in-"

"No, I can easily go far left and send a corner." Mal pushed Jessie back into the box now as Mal expertly protected the ball and dodged any jabs she sent.

"Tackle-"

"Even worse. You're a attacking middy playing defense right now, when the ball moves back what do you do?"

"Move back too."

"So gimme some room and look for where my feet go, when I roll the ball under my foot, slice and and kick it to the right towards the boundary. You can kick it up the line then." In a few seconds, Mal rolled the ball to move towards the center of the box when Jessie sticks her foot in to stop it and easily steals the ball. 

Mal falls backwards and lays down on the ground, her arms spread wide and a huge smile on her face with the satisfying drops of sweat rolling into her hair. She turns her head to see Jessie reach for the stars as she stretches hard. Her shirt is wet at the collar with sweat and her shirt rides up to show a sliver of the soft skin on her stomach before riding back down. 

Jessie wipes her forehead with the back of her hands as she makes her way towards Mal.

"That was so helpful, I had no idea how to approach that situation and you made it so easy to learn."

"That was because I was going easy on you. I would've rolled that ball back and to my other foot in seconds, but you're learning so..." Mal sent a big smile towards Jessie and was returned with a similar chuckling one. 

"Alright, I guess. I mean, unless you can prove that, otherwise..." Jessie left the sentence open ended, knowing Mal would understand what she implied.

Mal raised an eyebrow, "Bet." 

"Bet." Jessie offered a hand for Mal to grab, but she slapped it away before running to dribble the nearest ball to the 18-yard box.

* * *

It was almost 1am when the two players finished packing the soccer balls and other equipment into the bin that was left against one of the barriers. They had played a light-hearted, yet conditioning 3 hours of fulfilling soccer that left both a sense of satisfaction. The excess energy that was built up over the day was finally let out, and both knew they would have on of the best sleep when they got to their rooms.

Walking back to the fence, they both carried faints smiles on their faces, a sort of shared relaxation and current mindset. They didn't really have anything to say to each other, and it's not like they were having a moment of silence, rather it being comfortable... and extremely sweaty.

"Hey Jess?" The nickname bringing Jessie to snap back from her wandering mind. She swiped a few of her drying wisps of hairs and looked at Mallory who slowed down.

"Yeah?" 

"How are we going to get up the fence?"

"Um," Jessie looked around to find anything that could help them up or any non-spike-y part of the fence that would be easier to hop over. "We could get use your hoodie again."

"I threw it away..." Mall facepalmed and let her backpack drip from her shoulder. 

"We could just use mine it's fine, but you're gonna have to go first." Mal looked at Jessie and the middy's heart almost melted at the growing smile on Mal.

Jessie throws her hoodie expertly onto the top of the fence and positions herself to give a boost by linking her hands together for Mal's foot. "Alright, come on," Jessie bent her knees as Mal put her foot in her hands and a hand on her shoulder for balance. Mal grabbed one of the fence bars on the opposite side of Jessie's head so it was as if Jessie was trapped between her arms. 

The forwards lips were at the height of Jessie's forehead and she shivered slightly at the hot breath in the cold night. 

"On three, okay?" Jessie nods and almost makes the mistake of looking all the way up at Mal's face until she had to readjust her grip on her foot.

Okay. Three. Two. One. Go!" Mallory jumps onto Jessie's hands who uses her legs to lift and her arms to push Mallory above her shoulders, and over the fence easily. The forward hits the ground a little harder than intended, but on her two feet nonetheless. 

"You made it!" Jessie exclaims loudly.

Mallory smiles brightly and proudly before stating, "Throw the bags over and then hop over yourself." Jessie quickly tosses over their backpacks and starts to monkey climb the chainlink fence easily. 

The sound of metal against metal and the shaky fence gave a certain nostalgia to Jessie from her childhood. 

"Wish i could go back to being a kid and do things for fun again rather than it being required." Jessie pauses at the top of the fence.

"Same," Mal scoffed humorously, "well sorta. All I did was focus on soccer and school constantly. I never got to do some things other kids did as kids."

"My parents said keeping your personal life and professional life is very important. When I told my mom I wanted to play professionally as a kid that was the first things she said."

"Do you miss your life back in Canada and all the relationships you had?"

"I mean yeah, I'm away from family, I'm away from my home, and my friends, but... I made friends here, and I have family here. So it's kind of like home away from home."

Mallory nodded her head in understanding while looking up at the confused middy, "What? What's wrong?" Mallory looks down and around to see what Jessie sees.

"Who's that?" Jessie point near the stadium exit they had gone through to get it. A bright flashlight shines on Jessie's face, making her look away and cover her face with her arm.

"Hey, you! Get down from there right now! You're trespassing!"

"Jessie get down now!" Mallory shoulder both their bags and starts to walk backwards while watching Jessie drop straight down from 8 feet with her hoodie and starts to run. Mal turns around and both of them run across the stadium parking lot. Jessie starts to slow down a little bit, but keeps pace with Mal from behind.

"Come on, Jess," Mal pants out as she looks back to see if they were being followed and she spots 3 more flashlights show up and scan the parking lot.

"I think I hurt my foot." Jess fumbles out as they cross the street into the dorm courtyard.

"What?" Mal slows down to run next to Jessie and see's the strewn facial expression on her face.

"Let's go to the bench and sit down real quick." Mal stops running and walks to a bench under a street lamp as Jessie walks (limps) to the bench and carelessly sits down.

The girls both take a moment to catch their breaths before Mal asks, "What happened? I was looking at you the entire time."

"I jumped down 8 feet is what." jessie hisses as she unties her shoe laces.

"Here, let me you big baby." Jessie foregoes snapping back and instead leans back on her hands as Mal pulls off both her shoes and socks off gently. Mal feels around Jessie's foot, but not painful expression comes from Jessie's face.

"So?" Jessie looks at Mal's face with worried eyes and a cringy face.

"I think the shock of the fall is what hurt you, but nothing seems to be wrong. You might have a bruise when you wake up," Mal sits down on the ground in front of Jessie and puts a hand on her knee, "You'll be fine with some ice, but if it's bad in the morning we have to take you to the tra-"

"No trainer," Jessie snapped. A moment of silence passes between the two before Jessie speaks up again, "I'm sorry. I just can't miss any games... I don't want to miss any games." 

"I get it." Mal nods and sends a small smile to the midfielder which was returned with the same energy.

Jessie grabs her socks and slips her shoes straight on, "I think we better get back to our dorms and shower."

"Right, yeah." Mal snaps out of her thoughts and gets up, shivering when a strong gust of wind blows the trees and leaves around them. 

"Take my hoodie," Jessie says as she throws her backpack onto her shoulder, "Your dorm is 5 minutes farther than mine and its gonna drop to 40 tonight. You Californians won't survive a minute."

"I'll have you know I am from Colorado. I've. faced the coldest of temperatures."

"What? Lowest of zero degrees? We go into the negatives. Just take it as a replacement for your ripped one."

Mallory contemplates taking it, but eventually does, "You're still buying me a new one."

"Of course, anything for my queen." Jessie bows playfully before she starts walking backward down the right pathway of the courtyard leading to her dorms.

"Captain!"

"Anything for my captain!" Jessie yells back before turning her back towards Mal and making her way up the stairs.

Mal smiles and continues to walk straight to her building on the other side of the dorm block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'aaalll sorry that I took so long to update it has been a BUSY month and I'm trying to get over senioritis. 
> 
> Leave some feed back if ya want, I'ma go take a nap now.


End file.
